Bacterial resistance and new treatment strategies - Staphylococcal infections

MRSA outside the hospital: From a major problem almost exclusively encounte red in hospitalized patients, meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (M RSA) infection has become a cause of skin, soft tissue, and even systemic i nfections outside the hospital. In order to prevent further spread, patient s carrying MRSA (recently hospitalized patients, drug abusers, debilitated subjects, etc) must be identified and the mode of acquisition of MRSA infec tion (cross transmission between community and non-hospital care centers) m ust be recognized. Small colony variants: SCV produce non-pigmented colonies that ale 10 times smaller than the usual S. aureus colonies and have particular metabolic an d genetic properties. They can cause persistent, recurrent and drug-resista nt infections. MRSA in France: Data obtained in a case-control study confirms the selectio n pressure as well as the important colonization pressure exerted by antibi otics on gentamicin-sensitive strains. (C) 2000, Masson, Paris.